Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of cancer. This means it grows and spreads very quickly, making it difficult to treat.
Sadly, the survival rate for people diagnosed with this cancer is extremely low. Only about 8 out of 100 patients live for more than five years after finding out they have the disease.
Scientists have been working hard to find better ways to treat PDAC, and recently, researchers at the Francis Crick Institute shared some promising discoveries. They published their findings in a scientific journal called Nature Cell Biology.
This breakthrough could lead to new treatments that may help improve survival rates for people with this devastating illness.
The researchers, led by Axel Behrens, focused on a group of special cancer cells called cancer stem cells. These cells are different from regular cancer cells.
Similar to how normal stem cells in the body help repair and grow tissues, cancer stem cells can start new tumors and change into different types of cancer cells. This makes them a key target for understanding and stopping cancer.
The team discovered an important protein called CD9 on the surface of these cancer stem cells. CD9 is like a fingerprint for these cells, making it easier to identify them. But it turns out CD9 is more than just a marker—it also plays a harmful role in helping the cancer grow and spread.
When the scientists reduced the amount of CD9 in tumor cells in experiments with mice, the tumors grew smaller. On the other hand, when they increased the amount of CD9, the cancer cells became more aggressive, forming larger tumors more quickly.
They also studied clinical data from patients and found that people with higher levels of CD9 in their tumor cells often had worse outcomes. About 10% of PDAC patients fall into this group.
To understand why CD9 makes cancer more dangerous, the researchers looked at how these cancer stem cells get the nutrients they need to grow.
They found that CD9 helps the cells absorb a nutrient called glutamine more efficiently. Glutamine acts as fuel, giving energy to the cancer cells and helping them grow and spread faster.
This discovery is important because it offers a new way to approach treatment. By targeting CD9, scientists might be able to stop cancer stem cells from taking in glutamine, essentially cutting off their energy supply. It’s like starving the cancer cells, making it harder for them to survive and grow.
While there’s still much work to be done, this research provides hope for the future. Developing treatments that focus on blocking CD9 or its effects could save lives and offer a new strategy for tackling pancreatic cancer.
For patients and their families, this could be a significant step forward in the fight against one of the most challenging types of cancer.
If you care about cancer, please read studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and new way to increase the longevity of cancer survivors.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies about how to fight cancer with these anti-cancer superfoods, and results showing daily vitamin D3 supplementation may reduce cancer death risk.
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